Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Shares Bought by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,425,706 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 124,353 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.98% of Murphy Oil worth $43,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Murphy Oil by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,916 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MUR. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.77.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 6.52% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 3.2 %

Murphy Oil stock traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $20.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,114,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,050,379. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.28. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.68. Murphy Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.95 and a fifty-two week high of $46.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.